Can my 8 year old daughter have depression?

[abbag]

Hi my daughter is 8, shes very shy and socially isolates herself. She chews on everything, not doing very good at school in the past 2 years either. She always complains that she hates school, hates everything. Shes never happy, says she has no friends and always bored. Even when her friends come and play with her its not long and she decides shes bored again. Her teachers say that she doesnt do this in school but the report card they sent home says otherwise. What do I do? Who should I take her to see or is this normal?

[LALEAH]

I had the same problem with my son.  The shirt chewing I wouldn't worry about.  He started with a cough and moved to shirt chewing.  In the 2nd grade, i was relieved to see 4 other children doing the same thing.  I realized that it was their way of dealing with anxiety.  He moved back to the cough for a year and it gradually disappeared in a couple years.  At 13, I hear the occasional cough when very stressed but that is maybe one or two times a year.  
Bored.  Take your child to a Child Psychologist and have her evaluated.  I seriously believed my son had Asberger syndrome.  Turns out, he is gifted and in the top 5% of IQ.  I was in complete shock for three days.  So many of the symptoms are the same for both.  The boredom was because of his IQ.  His personality did not fit the norm of other children (part of the gifted child) and he always felt unliked.  Over the years he has maintained a few good friends but they have the same intelligence and held their own against each other.  But he will and always will have issues dealing with other children.  His mind works in a different way.  He does not get perfect grades despite his IQ.  We expect him to try and do his best but realize that his mind works differently.  My daughter's IQ is a couple points different.  In the 3rd grade there was a gang problem (hard to imagine, isn't it) and we changed schools two more times due to violence in the schools.  She became introverted and had no friends for two years.  I tried everything but could not help her.  She went from a private school and class of 6 kids to the local High School.  I got her an Art Therapy Counselor and she is on Honor Roll.  Finally, made friends and is doing well.  I could not be more proud of her.  It was difficult for a while but trust in your judgement and keep talking with her.  Back to the original point, please get your daughter tested.  Both of my children tested gifted with ADD (not HD).  Meds made a difference in how they perceived their school work.  Best of luck.  Let us know what happens.

[capegirlnoshoes]

Very young children can exhibit signs of depression, but it's hard to know what to do.  She may just be going through a rough phase.  Or maybe something is going on at school, other kids don't like her perhaps or she feels different or something like that.  Or maybe she is getting another disorder which looks like depression but isn't.  A lot of disorders manifest differently in children.  I'd go to your gp and get a referral to a child psychologist or pediatrician or someone like that.  GPs don't usually have a very specialist knowledge of pediatric problems.  
Most importantly, be VERY CAREFUL if anyone suggests prescribing psychiatric medication.  Anti-depressants in childhood can trigger bipolar or ocd later on.  I'm not sure about the risks of other psychiatric medications for children, but I know that one.  I hear mood stabilisers aren't as dangerous, but I can't be sure.  

[lilymoon]

Id start by going to see your gp he/she willknow how to get this checked out further.lily

[deeds623]

hi, I am type 1 bipoolar and was always considered hyper at that age. I was manic. Where I lived in England in the 60's and South Africa in the 70's. Both countries failed to recognize bipolar disorder at the time while here in Canada and the USA it was being treated. There are 2 basic bipolar disorders, Type one where people cycle through mania and depression and   type 2 which is less mania and more depression.and both can be treated with medicine and therapy. I may be well off on the bipolar but I would suggest seeing a child psychiatrist, get a referral through your family doctor and go and have some tests done. This may be something your daughter just grows out of but there are some medications that may help. Depending on her prognosis there can be help with ritalin. Also, what are the things your daughter enjoys doing or is good at? Is there anything like brownies or girl guides she could get involved in, Does she like animals eg.  volunteering at a local petting zoo or animal shelter. Does she have any hobbies she's picked up and put down again. People with depression aree usually bored with everything and it might help at least in the short term  if you can find something she likes to do, She will need a push in the right direction but the big thing with getting somebody with depression out of the house. When a depressed person can get out of their own heads for a few hours because they are doing something that occupies their minds and hopefully they enjoy. Something that also help me was having someone out of my immediate family and friends I could talk to about anything on my mind and build a rapport with. A school councellor or a child psychologist. If your daughter has a mood disorder there are several mental health groups you can find on the internet or ask your family doctor. Without knowing more about her situation this is the best I can do for now. Please write back when you have a  bit more information on what's avaible for your daughter's assistance in the area you live. I am in Vancouver B.C.and here I have a lot of access to useful information. Best of luck